New member

Martian is as good a username as any... Besides I've signed up with Musk to be the first senior citizen on Mars so??? My bags are packed. Sorry Tundra. You'll have to stay home this time.

I bought my Tundra new in Jan of 05. It was the best $20K that I ever spent on a personal set of wheels. Been using 100% synthetic oil since the first change. The engine runs like new. Best mileage is 24 mpg on a road trip. Worst on the road with cargo trailer is 19 mpg. Currently has 77K plus miles on odometer. Original brakes. I inspect them once a year. Plenty of pad lining left. Never had any alignment problems with the front end. Second tires. Just changed out the original spark plugs today. Also today I changed the original accessory (some call them serpentine) belt out. The original was in good shape, very few of those little cracks on the back side. But... almost 20 years is long enough for a belt. Safety first. The original plugs were just a tad over gap (less than .001') and clean but not primo so it is good that I swapped them out. New ones are Denso. Never been into the cooling system. Use only coolant from Toyota parts shop. A little extra money pays off in miles. Hoses all look and feel like new. Oiginal battery lasted 18 years but over time the hydrogen gas built up in the dialectric and one day it exploded. Well let me tell you than when you see a mushroom cloud over the hood of your car the first thing to do is to turn the ignition off. The battery had a 4 inch crack in the top. Recycle. When I bought my truck I got the cheapest truck on the lot. The only extra was the 5 speed auto. I wish now I'd have gotten the manual.

Been doing my own wrenching since 1953 when my family first got a car. I do my own maintenance work on this vehicle. It was in the Toyota shop once for a passenger side air bag recall. Never for anything else. I never put the truck in gear on a cold start until warm air is coming out of the heater. I'm a typical oldie. I drive slow and probably make tons of other drivers mad. Oh well...

I ignore most codes. I'm not going to waste my time worring about the tire pressure code for instance. I know the cause. "Maintenance required"? No. Sorry.

Negatives: The only complaint I have with this truck is the fuel system. It is very difficult to put gas in the tank. The nozzle keeps clicking off as though pressure is building up in the tank when it in fact nearly empty except for fumes. I wonder if the charcoal filter could be blocked. It is also original but I've had this problem for many years and the truck is now low miles for it's age which will be 19.5 years old on June 10th. As it is now I seldom drive any more so I gas up only once about every four months. And I have all day to spend at the pump if I have to. ha ha

The above is just the way it goes. I'll drop the tank this summer and eye ball everything. I think I'll see the problem. Probably a new charcoal filer would be a good idea.

When I was a teen in high school in the middle 1950s I bought a 1940 Buick Special for $20. Great car. It started and ran without ever complaining. Of course cars in those days got 16 mpg but with gas (motion lotion we called it) at between 17.9 and 27.9 cents per gallon who cares. I used to guy five gallons of gas for $1. Those days are gone forever. On Mars we'll all be driving EVs.

Note: I wish I had cruise control but they offered it in a package only. I would have had to gotten the V8 engine and some other stuff I didn't need, other things that aren't necessary. Maybe the dual cab too? So... no cruise control.

The real reason for me joining this forum and posting is because I am extremely hard of hearing, almost deaf. I am so deaf I can make a phone call only with the greatest trouble. I was a passenger in my girl friend's car recently and she got a call through the car radio. Wow!!! I could actually hear the other person. This is a big deal for those of us who have gone years, decades without reliable hearing.

I would like to modify the sound system in my Tumdra to include a modern Carplay Head preferrably with a hard wire connection (not blue tooth) to my phone. I don't care so much about all the other apps that are available. But if I can make a phone call from my truck my world will be much improved. I certainly can't make a call from my home and that 711 service sucks big time. As for answering calls? Well if I am siting in my truck with someone calls maybe I'll be able to answer. Truth is though it's been about 12 years since I answered a phone. I'm not sure if I remember how.

Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing. Mind you. My interest is using my smartie through the truck radio so the volume control can make the other voide louder. The original radio is perfectly loud. Althoughit was the cheapest truck on the lot the radio has four speakers. No need to improve on that.

FYI the original radio is am/fm with cd player and that's it. No fancy stuff.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an after market Head thingie I think they call them? I like the idea of a video screen with the touch icons. But really all I need is the phone link. Money is not an object. I learned a long time ago that, it's true, you get what you pay for.

Pardon my lengthy post.

Last comment for Toyota... I would consider a new Tundra if I could get the 8ft bed and single cab. 4WD is good where I live but I don't need a huge engine. But.... those models are history I guess. Sigh..

My dream Tundra is the 8ft bed, single cab, 4L V6, 4WD and six speed manual. Oh.. and positraction too but the days when you could order a truck to spec are long gone.

The first edition Tundra with the 4 banger was nice but just a tad underpowered. Still... I wish I'd have bought one when I had the chance. So simple maintenance wise. So easy.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

Welcome from North Florida!

Love the amount of work and care you have done so far, and yes, there are a lot of folks here with the same gen as you who have made changes to their radios and speakers. Unfortunately, vaugue questions like "what works" will send you down a rabbit hole of opinions, preferences and webpages.

If you like wiring and wire running, some guys here can absolutely send you some recommendations and sites like crutchfield can sell you the package that will be the easiest to go with. There are other sites, like ********* who build full kits and can answer a ton of questions. I know a lot of folks on here have used them.

As far as my own opinion.. I havent messed with mine yet, but when I do it will be to add carplay. But I will most likely buy one that works with FRAC and a dashcam.